-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- `` At the end of six seasons , six beautiful seasons , it 's like high school -- time to graduate and go to college , '' Mike `` The Situation '' Sorrentino told CNN as he and his cast mates bid farewell to their MTV hit `` Jersey Shore '' at the New York Television Festival .

And just like after high school , it 's time for the `` Jersey Shore '' cast to really get to work , just like the reality TV stars who came before them .

The `` Jersey Shore '' cast members are all expanding their empires while also giving back to the community that made them famous , via a planned one-hour fund-raiser to rebuild the actual Jersey Shore , which was devastated along with other areas on the East Coast during Hurricane Sandy .

`` Restore the Shore '' will be broadcast live from Times Square on Thursday , November 15 , at 11 p.m. ET and tape-delayed on the West Coast . Unlike the graduates of `` American Idol , '' `` Project Runway , '' or even `` The Hills , '' the self-proclaimed guidos of the `` Jersey Shore '' represent a region . Love them or hate them -LRB- or love to hate them -RRB- , the TV special may bolster their reputations -LRB- not to mention their brands -RRB- when they might have been criticized for leaving the area a little worse for wear .

`` I think of everyone in the celebrity world , we get bullied the most , '' said Nicole `` Snooki '' Polizzi . `` People are just mean to us . Yes , I got drunk , I blacked out , I got arrested , but that 's what happens to everybody . They just do n't have a camera following them . ''

The final episode of `` Jersey Shore '' airs December 13 , and with the end in sight , the cast are thinking about what to do when the party 's over , spinoffs notwithstanding . Sammi Giancola is going back to college to finish her sociology degree .

Ruthie Alcaide from season eight of `` The Real World , '' who became a spokesperson for alcohol awareness , might provide a role model for Sorrentino , whose own situation also involved a stint in rehab .

He does n't think his hard-won sobriety had anything to do with the show coming to an end , but now that he 's famous , he ca n't see himself falling back on his former career as a mortgage broker .

`` I ca n't be ` the Situation ' forever , '' he acknowledged , adding that he hopes to milk it for a little while longer -LRB- at least until the next TV gig comes along -RRB- . He 's also written a comic book using his `` Jersey Shore '' persona as a superhero : `` By day he is Mike , almost like Clark Kent , and by night , he is ` the Situation , ' who has the power of persuasion with females and gets that power from a tanning bed . ''

Sorrentino also hopes to make other endorsement and branding deals , pending an unresolved suit from Viacom over copyright of phrases that originated on the show .

The highest-earning member of the `` Jersey Shore '' cast , Paul `` Pauly D '' DelVecchio , who banked a reported $ 11 million last year , knows he ca n't rely on his reality-TV fame . The DJ signed with 50 Cent 's record label and is coproducing an album with the rap mogul . -LRB- He 's also partnered with 50 to put out a line of headphones and will DJ Britney Spears ' wedding -RRB- .

`` I 'm actually applying for unemployment now that the show 's ending , '' he joked . `` But I hear they pay you less now , so that 's not going to work . ''

Already a queen of branding , Polizzi has more deals for her own fashion and beauty lines than the rest of the cast : indoor and sunless tanning , slippers , sunglasses , perfume , jewelry and a maternity line on the way . But this is n't enough , she said , so she 's also getting into the music business , because the brands are not her long game .

`` My parents , they 're just trying to get everything out of this moment , and they want to have a family business , so we started Team Snooki Music , '' she said . `` We 're just trying to make a living so my kids can go to college , and they do n't have to worry about anything . You have to plan . ''

Polizzi also hopes to get back on the air via her own TV talk show , `` like a ` Chelsea Handler ' - type show , '' she told CNN , `` late at night , when I can talk about anything , because I have no filter . ''

Her BFF Jenni `` JWoww '' Farley is less ambitious , setting her sights on a television career behind the scenes as a producer . While she plans to continue selling brands such as her tanning line , Farley said she wants to actually `` create something . ''

`` I would love to do a fun makeover show with young women and men to up their confidence , '' she said , `` and then do a show about bullying , really break down the barriers and help change the laws behind them , because it 's behind the times . ''

Farley might actually have a shot at launching one of these shows at MTV , she noted , because she 's been shadowing the network 's producers and executives just as much as they 've been watching her these past six seasons .

`` I could go to MTV and be like , ` Hey , do you know me ? I 'm kind of on one of your shows , and I have an idea ... ' '' The strategy 's also in line with the network 's spinoff habit , such as how `` Laguna Beach : The Real Orange County '' led to `` The Hills '' which led to `` The City '' which led to `` Audrina '' on sister network VH1 .

Deena Cortese does n't think her previous career as a dental assistant is in the cards anymore , because the show has tainted her reputation , not improved it .

`` Be honest , '' she said . `` Would anybody trust me doing that anymore ? Probably not . '' But she thinks she has another fallback position in the real world : starting her own beauty salon .

As they prepare to say goodbye to the perks of being -LRB- temporarily -RRB- famous -- `` I 'm going to miss getting courtside seats to the Knicks games ! '' Pauly D said -- they always have the inevitable reunion show to look forward to , because , as show creator SallyAnn Salsano said , we 've never seen the real `` Jersey Shore . ''

`` What really happened in that house , no one knows , '' she said . `` You guys got the PG-version . ''

Could the fund-raiser special change the cast members ' reputations ? Will it help them succeed at their goals ? It 's too soon to tell , but at least it shows a new side of people who were about to be typecast forever .

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The cast members of `` Jersey Shore '' are expanding their empires beyond the program

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The `` Restore the Shore '' special may help bolster their reps as well as their brands

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Snooki , Deena , Pauly D and `` The Situation '' share their post - `` Shore '' plans